I was out with some buddies dragging a knee out in western washington and got to a good flat smooth stretch of road that we knew went on for about three miles, which is rare in western washington, so we let the bikes stretch their legs out some. Zooming along at an irresponsible pace when it felt like a sledgehammer hit my left hand and the bike jerked left. I chopped the throttle and looked up from my full tuck into my mirror to see a puff of black feathers rapidly vanishing behind me. My hand hurt like hell, I go to pull in the clutch and no clutch lever. I hit a crow, magpie, or some black bird, broke my clutch lever and did a number on my hand. Nothing broken in my hand or anthing. Had about one inch of lever to get me home. Looking back, the steering damper saved my bacon, had it not been there the bike would have pitched hard left and I'd have left this world the same way I came in, covered in blood and screaming. Those days are past and one of the reasons I sold my sportbikes and opted for somehing more sane, practical and toned down.
